Adaptation of small scale farmers to climatic risks in India - Sustainet

Promotion of Sustainable agricultural practices through smart Subsidies: While the Govt. of India
provides enough subsidies for inorganic fertilizers and pesticides, not much effort is being given to
encourage environmentally sound farming practices. There should be a mechanism of direct subsidies
to farmers, who are practicing environmental friendly practices. Subsidies for foreign breed of cattle
should not be promoted and rearing of local breeds should be encouraged
Animal Husbandry/Cattle conservation programme: Tackling the issue of animal husbandry as one of
the important sector was one of the weak link identified during the course of study. The need of
identifying the local productive breed and promoting cattle rearing along with creating fodder banks
could provide an essential and necessary input for sustainable livelihoods of farming communities.
Measures need to be taken to assure the existence of a sufficiently large cattle population with local
adapted breeds. Govt. of India has already captured the importance and is carrying out Livestock
Insurance Schemes on a pilot basis through private – public partnership mode. There is a need to learn
from the pilot study and extend the Livestock Insurance Scheme to the large parts of India.
Infrastructure at local level:
Basic infrastructure needs to be improved in all the sectors for making agriculture sustainable. Better
road connectivity for greater market access as well as increasing the storage capacity of both food and
fodder at local level is urgently needed. Village level water harvesting structures are another important
intervention. One focus has to be in creating seed, food/grain, and fodder and water Banks at
community level.
Efficient Delivery systems:
Extension services: Strengthening of agricultural extension services through the existing Krishi Vigyan
Kendras (KVKs), by focusing on low input agricultural practices and locally adapted cropping patterns is
critical and urgently needed.
Marketing Services: Communities should get support in learning about market mechanisms and
merchandising their products. They should have easy access to markets and information about global
market prices. E- Choupals 21 , like those initiated by (ITC for Soybean, in the State of Madhya Pradesh,
is an excellent model in place that might be extended to other food crops as well.
Access to weather Information: Farmers need accurate weather forecasts and agro-advisory services,
to take vital decisions regarding farming practices. However, untill date the Indian Meteorological
Department extends its agro-advisory services only up to the district level. The information often does
not reach the end users. Establishing an efficient service delivery system down to the village level is a
21 e Choupal is an initiative of ITC Limited (a large multi business conglomerate in India) to link directly with rural farmers for
procurement of agricultural / aquaculture produce like soybeans, wheat, coffee, and prawns.
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